The Funeral of Elizabeth I

de bene esse: literally, of well-being, morally acceptable but subject to future validation or exception

On this day in history, 28th April 1603, Elizabeth I’s funeral took place in London .…

Funeral Procession of Elizabeth I

After her death on 24th March 1603, the body of Queen Elizabeth I was placed inside a lead coffin and carried by night in a torchlit barge along the Thames from Richmond Palace to Whitehall. There, the Queen lay in state until her funeral, allowing for King James to arrive in London. While the coffin lay in state, a life size effigy of the Queen, dressed in royal robes, was placed on top to act as a symbol of the monarchy while there was no monarch in England.

On 28th April 1603, Elizabeth’s coffin was taken from Whitehall to Westminster Abbey on a horse hearse drawn hung with black velvet. The coffin was covered in rich purple, topped with the effigy of Elizabeth, holding a sceptre with a crown on her head. Above the coffin, a canopy was  supported by six knights and behind the hearse, the Queen’s Master of the Horse, led her palfrey. The Chief Mourner was the Countess of Northampton who led the party of peers of the realm, all dressed in black. Chronicler John Stow wrote:-

“Westminster was surcharged with multitudes of all sorts of people in their streets, houses, windows, leads and gutters, that came out to see the obsequy, and when they beheld her statue lying upon the coffin, there was such a general sighing, groaning and weeping as the like hath not been seen or known in the memory of man.”

Elizabeth was buried at Westminster Abbey in the vault of her grandfather, Henry VII. She was moved in 1606 to her present resting place, a tomb in the Lady Chapel of Westminster Abbey which she shares with her half-sister Mary I. King James I spent over £11,000 on Elizabeth I’s lavish funeral and also arranged for a white marble monument to be erected. The tomb is inscribed with the words:-

“Consorts both in throne and grave, here we rest two sisters, Elizabeth and Mary, in hope of our resurrection.”

The Tomb and Funeral Effigy of Elizabeth I

An 18th century copy of the funeral effigy carried on Elizabeth I’s coffin at the Westminster Abbey Museum and a photo of the event are found at www.20thcenturylondon.org.uk. Also visit the Westminster Abbey page on Elizabeth I’s tomb at http://www.westminster-abbey.org/our-history/royals/burials/elizabeth-i.